KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Columbia softball team split a pair of
games on day three of the Rebel Spring Games on Sunday, earning an 11-3 win
over Rider in five innings before Green Bay snapped the Lions’ five-game winning
streak by a 3-1 count.

The five consecutive victories was the longest streak for the
program since they claimed six-straight in 2011.

The Lions have Monday off before taking on the Broncs and
Phoenix on Tuesday, March 19 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. as the Rebel Spring Games
continue.

Game OneColumbia 11, Rider 3 (5 Inn.)

Columbia
scored two runs in each of the first two innings to race out to a 4-0 lead they
would never relinquish. In the bottom of the first, Emily Caruthers and Emily
Snodgrass each recorded hits to start the game and Kayla Shimoda’s squeeze bunt
put the Lions on top, 1-0.

After Nicole
Borchard drew a walk to load the bases, the Broncs (3-16) conceded a run on a
Morgan Cook ground out, which capped the scoring in the first.

In the
second, Snodgrass belted her second long ball of the tournament, a two-run shot
that scored Alyssa Swearingen. However, Rider cut its deficit in half in the
top of the third.

With a
runner on second and one out, Dana Sensi hit a pop up to the first base side of
the diamond. First baseman Morgan Cook tripped on Sensi’s bat and the ball went
off Cook’s head in fair play and rolled to the dugout for a lucky double. Kim
Valdes followed with a slow chopper to short that Macy Shrum could not handle.
The ball wound up in the outfield and allowed both runners to score to make it
a 4-2 ballgame.

Columbia
responded swiftly in the bottom half of the frame, loading the bases on a
Shimoda double, Borchard single and a Morgan Cook walk. Shrum was inches away
from a grand slam, but Kehli Washington made the catch at the wall. However, it
was deep enough to plate Shimoda and bring the lead back up to three.

Liz Caggiano
followed with a knock up the middle to match the Broncs’ run total from the top
of the frame, and Swearingen added an RBI ground out to extend the margin to
7-2.

Rider scored
its final run in the fifth, capitalizing on a throwing error by Caggiano on a
first and third double-steal try, but the Lions put the game away during their
next turn of at-bats.

Shrum
reached first on a fielder’s choice and Caggiano singled off the wall in left
for Swearingen, who drove in her second run of the game with a sacrifice fly.
An error by the Broncs’ second baseman prolonged the inning and put Emily
Caruthers on base and Snodgrass notched a hit to load the bases with Lions.

Caggiano
scored on a wild pitch to put the game-ending
run in scoring position. Needing a hit to extend her on-base streak to
12 games, Alix Cook delivered the walk-off single to enforce the eight-run
rule.

Kalli
Schultea gave up three unearned runs in five innings to pick up the win
(1-1). The sophomore pitcher allowed six
hits and struck out two.

Snodgrass
was 3-for-4 and came around to score three times. Caggiano went 3-for-3 from
the dish.

Game TwoColumbia 1, Green Bay 3

Columbia
continued to swing its bats well against the Phoenix, putting a runner on base
in each inning, but stranded nine as they fell by the 3-1 count.

The Lions
took a 1-0 lead in the second on an RBI single by Swearingen to score
pinch-runner Summer Secrest.

Green Bay
erased its deficit with one swing of the bat in the top of the third on a two-run
home run by cleanup hitter Shannon Butts, ending an impressive string of 28.1
innings off unearned runs allowed by Columbia pitching.

The heart of
the Phoenix order did more damage in the fifth when their No. 3 batter, Marissa
Michalkiewicz, singled and moved to second on a ground out, leading to an RBI
single up the gut for Hailey Mohrfield.

The Lions
had one more chance in the bottom of the seventh, putting two runners on with
one out, but Green Bay starting pitcher Ashley Nannemann got the next two
batters to fly out to end the contest.

Cook
extended her streak to 13 with a 2-for-4 performance, while Borchard picked up
a pair of hits.

Brooke
Darling went the distance and took the loss (4-2), giving up the three earned
runs on nine hits with four strikeouts.